Chianca: We can be ethical again next year

Thursday

May 3, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 3, 2007 at 3:16 AM

I’m embarrassed to admit that I somehow missed Ethics in Journalism Week, which, according to the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), ended last Saturday. Now I have to wait a whole year before I get another chance to be ethical.

Peter Chianca/At Large

I’m embarrassed to admit that I somehow missed Ethics in Journalism Week, which, according to the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), ended last Saturday. Now I have to wait a whole year before I get another chance to be ethical.

That’s too bad, because you’d be surprised how complicated being an ethical journalist can get these days. Sure, the SPJ reminds us that a primary tenet to its Code of Ethics is to “minimize harm,” but let’s face it — I try to do that every time I get behind the wheel of a car or answer a question one of my kids has about human anatomy.

So with that in mind, I thought I’d offer up the following list of eight ways we journalists can get ready to celebrate next year’s Ethics in Journalism Week. (I had 10, but it turned out the last two were actually from a book by George Carlin.) Though it may be easy to lose sight of these things, taking a moment to consider them may help us remember why we got into the journalism business in the first place: the flexible hours.

So here goes:

1) Every so often — be it because of a looming deadline or the pressure of competition — even the most established and respected of journalists is going to be tempted to make something up, such as an anonymous source or, say, eight years of his life. But if you find yourself feeling the temptation to fabricate, please: Make sure it sounds realistic. (Nothing about space aliens.)

2) When we publish pictures we’ve taken of partially naked celebrities — be it on private beaches, when they’re getting out of limos sans underwear, or through windows that they’ve left inappropriately open — we should always make sure to superimpose black bars of a sufficient width to obscure their private areas. It’s the right thing to do.

3) Before referring to people as “nappy-headed hos,” we should make sure we have at least three on-the-record sources who confirm that’s actually what they are.

4) Speaking of sources, when seeking contacts on controversial issues, we should only approach people we know to be reliable and who have no personal agendas. You know, people like vice presidential aides, or someone from a group with a name like “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.” You know you can trust an organization like that, because they have “truth” right there in their name. Write that down.

5) Remember, if we get an arrest wrong it can affect somebody’s reputation for the rest of his or her life. So whenever you think of it, throw in an extra “alleged.” I think there’s a class on that at Columbia now.

6) We should absolutely, positively never plagiarize, unless it’s from something we’re relatively certain no one has read before. Say, the work of a particularly precocious high school student who we can later claim is emotionally unstable if she accuses us of copying.

7) Let’s make a pledge to limit the number of profanity-laced celebrity cell phone messages we release to the general public. I’m thinking one a week, tops. Larry King can handle only so much.

8) Though it may sometimes feel otherwise, not every story has to include nudity or violence. For instance, some stories can include both — maybe something on a horrible bus crash at a nudist colony. But only if we can get a photographer there.

So there you have it. Of course, while it’s a good idea to practice these guidelines during Ethics in Journalism Week, technically we have a responsibility to be ethical every single time we set about to ply our craft, as exhausting as that may sound. And by God, we can do it — or I’m not a member of the Society of Professional Journalists!

OK, I’m not a member; I just made that up. But you’ll notice I didn’t mention space aliens.

Peter Chianca is a CNC managing editor and a regular contributor to the “The Shorelines Blog” (blogs.townonline.com/shorelines). To receive At Large by e-mail, write to info@chianca-at-large.com, with the subject line “SUBSCRIBE.”